The daycare regiment
by UnbrokenLoyaty
Summary: Shang Li's father drops him off at daycare before starting his busy schedule as a the new corporate CEO. This is not what Shang expected. I'm fudging the ages to force it to work. Multi-Chapter Prompt Fic. It kind of got away from me. Daycare AU.
1. Chapter 1: A new daycare for Shang Li

Chapter 1: A new daycare for Shang Li.

Mr. Li was a busy man, as his son Shang knew. As much as his father would love to spend time with his young son, the first day as a new CEO was not the time to do it. Shang's mother also busy, so it fell to Mr. Li to drop Shang off at the daycare center of his new company.

They approached the towering building, shining brightly with glass and metal. Shang thought this might be the best one his father had worked at yet. The receptionist was a sweet looking woman. She politely welcomed his father (as was normal), but took the time to smile at little Shang.

"Well hello there. What a strapping young lad you are! Are you Mr. Li the younger?" she said with a smile.

Shang had never had someone call him Mr. Li, he quite liked it. Puffing his chest up, Shang announced proudly, "I'm going to be four!"

The lady nodded seriously. "Well four is very important year. I have a daughter, but she's only just turned three."

Shang was uninterested in the conversation at this point. Girls were boring and scary. The adults talked for a bit. Eventually Mr. Li turned down the hall. The receptionist must have told his father where the daycare was. Shang was determined to be brave and make some new friends with the boys he met. He would make his father proud.

They approached a wood door that had small cut-outs of hands decorating it. Mr. Li knocked and was let in by a tall, large, and rather foreboding looking woman. Shang really hoped this wasn't the person who would be watching him.

"Greetings Mr. Li. I believe we have matched your son up the appropriate group," said the woman, her jowls shook and a grey strand of hair escaped her tight black bun, "If you leave the boy here we will escort him in. I'm sure your day is very busy..."

Shang's father held up his hand, halting the woman's speech. "I would quite like to see my son off myself. I'm sure you are as efficient as your service has been so far. While I am grateful, we have a tradition we like to uphold," he said.

Shang was deeply relieved. He knew that they had no such tradition. Often Shang's mother would drop him off before work. It was good that his father obviously saw how evil this woman was as well.

"As you wish Mr. Li," the woman said, returning to the desk. "Your son's classroom will be to the left. Chi-Fu will be there to meet you," she said waving her hand in the general direction of an undecorated door.

Shang was quite glad to be getting away from her, though he wished the front desk receptionist had been in charge of the daycare instead. Maybe he could talk to his father about having that done. Father Li now owned this place, so Shang was sure he could do it.

Mr. Li opened a rather plain door and revealed a warm, brightly lit room. Despite Shang's concerns, it looked like this might be a good center. I skinny man holding clipboard and pen approached them. It must have been Chi-Fu.

"Mr. Li? I'm Chi-Fu, it will be an honor to have your son in my group. We created this group to make room for some of the new children coming in this year. We are so happy that you are expanding the business. I'm made sure to specially choose s many individuals that will be beneficial playmates and society for your son as possible," said Chi-Fu.

"That will be fine," Mr. Li dismissed the man. Bending down, he addressed Shang, "Remember, son, we are Li's. I'm sure you will behave appropriately today."

Shang nodded seriously.

"I will see you this afternoon, after work," said Mr. Li with a pat to Shang's shoulder. He stood up, thanked Chi-Fu, and left.

Shang looked up at Chi-Fu. He could swear that Chi-Fu's eyes narrowed at him briefly. A shiver went up his back and then all returned to normal. The sun was shining in through the windows, the carpet was soft, and Chi-Fu was simply a skinny man here to keep an eye of everything.

"You may go play quietly with the toys if you like. The others should arrive shortly," said Chi-Fu and pulled out a smart phone.

Shang nodded and headed over to the bookshelf. It was best to practice his reading before the other boy's arrived. He would not be considered the nerd this time. Shang finished a book and a half before he heard the door open again.

A pair of boys were escorted in by two harried looking mothers. One was tall and skinny kid, with a goofy face, and the other was short and shout. They were laughing and pushing each other around. As their mothers greeted Chi-Fu and filled out paperwork, the two boys tore across the room looking at everything.

Shang closed his book and carefully shelved it. Standing up, he walked over to where the two boys were playing with the Mega Blocks. Shang cleared his throat and stood up straight, just like he had seen his father done many times before. He held out his hand and, remembering the way the receptionist had addressed him, said, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm young Mr. Li? What are your names?"

The two boys looked confused, but the skinny one grabbed Shang's hand with both of his. With an energetic pump and a wide smile (that showed a missing tooth) said, "I'm Ling and this is Yao! I'm four and a half, but Yao's almost five! We used to be in Mrs. Hau's group, but now we're in here. We were worried we would be together, but we are, and that's great! I bet being in your group will be great too! Hey, where are otters from?"

Shang was taken aback by the flood of information and was barely able to process enough to say, "Rivers?"

Ling's smile gotten even wider as Yao groaned. "Nope!" he said, popping his "p," "The answers, Otter Space! OTTER space, get it?!"

While Ling was giggling madly Yao firmly clapped Shang on the shoulder. "Don't mind Ling, he wants to be the guy that tells jokes on stage when he's big," he said seriously.

Shang filed this information away and nodded back. "Ok. Hey, Yao?" he ventured.

"Yeah," said Yao.

"Would you and Ling like to build a city, I can grab some cars for us to add," said Shang.

Before Yao could say yes or no, Chi-Fu called the boys to the front. Standing beside him was now a large, round boy with a pleasant, if simple, face. "Shang, Ling, Yao, this is Chien-Po. Please take over to the corner with you," he said, "and remember, stay quiet."

There was no mistaking it, Shang was sure this time. Chi-Fu had a most unpleasant look on his face. It was like the time his mother had found the celery sticks Shang had hid under the couch. Celery was yucky, he needed to find new place to get rid of the snack.

Shang figured it would be best if listened to Chi-Fu for now. Here was another adult he would have to talk to his father about. This new building was turning into a lot of work for Shang, but the boys seemed like decent enough sorts. He even would bet that they wouldn't ever call him "pretty boy," or "bosses boy" like the other building's boys had.

Chi-Fu gave a satisfied nod as Shang asked the other boys to follow him, and returned to using his smart phone.

Once they were safely away from the man, Shang turned to the new boy. "Hi, I'm Mr. Li, this is Ling and Yao," he said, gesturing to the two boys beside him, "We were building a city, if you would like to join us, you can help me get the cars."

"I didn't say yes YET!" grumped Yao. He crossed his arms defiantly.

"Did you have better plan?" Shang asked, trying to keep calm.

"…No…" sulked Yao, "but, I could have!"

"I'm fine with getting the cars. Can we pretend they are electric cars? Mom says electric cars will make everything a better place if we use them," Chien-Po chimed in.

It was agreed that electric cars would be fine. Shang gathered a few of them. Chien-Po surprised everyone by being able to drag the whole box of them over by himself despite being the youngest, at 3 1/2. The four had settled into chatter and building, under the careful guidance of Shang. They had to be taught the right way to lay a city out, but Shang could forgive them, not everyone had a father as smart as his. Yes, Shang thought, this was going to be a good fresh start.


	2. Chapter 2: A Wild Ping Appears

Chapter 2: A Wild Ping appears

The cars were being divided up when the door opened again. In bounced a whirling mash of patterns. The elderly woman that followed after somehow snatched ahold of the whirlwind, making it stand still. The boys crept forward for a closer look at the figure. The kid was tiny, like really tiny, and Shang couldn't see a single piece of clothing that matched. There was a red right shoe over a blue sock and a yellow left shoe with a tall green sock. The shorts were tie-dyed. The shirt had black and white stripes and was covered by a big stretched out brown sweater. Above this rage of color was a little face, with brown eyes and a short dark pony tail.

The old lady held the kid by the shoulders as Chi-Fu tried fruitlessly to get her attention. "Now have a good day Mulan and don't do anything I wouldn't," she said with an exaggerated wink the boys could see from half way across the room.

Small fist clenched as the colorful kid stated very clearly, "I'm not Mulan Grandmother, I'm Ping."

The old woman straightened the pony tail and said, "Oh my, I'm sorry. Mulan must have stayed home with your little brother today." She didn't sound like the adults that merely agreed with Shang to make him be quiet. She sounded like she really meant it.

Nodding furiously, Ping stated, "Ping is here not Mulan!"

Shang figured Ping must have a twin named Mulan. Shang wasn't sure how he felt about Ping's attitude towards his twin. Yeah, it was a sister, but Shang was sure he would have been happy to have a sibling, even if it was a girl. It would be someone who could stay with him no matter how many times they moved around.

"Very well, Ping, but don't forget Cri-Kee!" Ping's grandmother said as she handed him a ratty looking stuffed cricket toy, it was a very ugly cricket, "He'll keep you lucky and safe until your mother or father can pick you up." Ping did not look happy to be taking it.

Ping stared at the boys and the boys stared back. In the background they could hear Chi-Fu protesting Ping's inclusion in the group. Apparently there had been a mix up and Ping had been scheduled for the wrong group. Ping's grandmother thrust a stack of papers at Chi-Fu, waved to Mulan, and marched out surprisingly quickly for a woman of her age.

The staring contest continued.

Chien-Po perked up and point at Ping, "I think he has food!" Indeed, Ping had a sandwich bag of biscuits in the hand not loosely holding the cricket's leg.

Ping glanced down at the biscuits and back up at Chiem-Po. "Mmm. Do you want some?" he asked. With that the tense atmosphere was broken. They settled down by the half built city, Ping said it looked like an alien warship, and set about eating biscuits. Ping introduced them all to his invisible friend Mushu. Mushu was a small (but terrifyingly great) ancestral dragon that guarded Ping. Related some of what Mushu said, it was all very funy.

Shang would normally say Ping was too old for imaginary friends, but the way Ping talked about Mushu… Well, Shang was starting to wonder if his late grandma had been right. Maybe spirits did befriend special kids. Maybe Mushu wasn't imaginary and was actually was the great spirit Ping said he was. Either way, Ping was pretty neat. All was going well until Chi-Fu happened to glance up his enthralling phone.

"What are you doing!?" he exclaimed, marching over to them. He snatched away the biscuit bag. "It is not snack time, and these are not approved food! Who brought these?" he yelled, brandishing the bag like a sword.

Shang glanced at the other boys. He tried to warn them not to say anything. It turned out he didn't need to worry. No one was going to rat out Ping, not after they had shared the communal bond of food. Dissatisfied with his results Chi-Fu glared. It was fruitless.

"Fine! Cover for the sneak! You'll regret it. This is your one warning. I find out you did something else and your all sitting in a corner until lunch!" His voice got higher with each word, until he ended in a hysterical squeak. The minder stomped off, in a manner more suited to his charges, and sulked at his desk.

Ling obviously thought the mood was too somber with the loss of biscuits. "Hey Ping? What did the fly say when it flew into a window?" He asked.

Before anyone could warn Ping, he said, "I don't know, what?"

"If I had more guts I'd do that again!" Ling exclaimed and started laughing. To the wonder of everyone, Ping started giggling as well. Before long all the boys were laughing like loons. Shang was sure Ling's joke wasn't' that funny, but it was just what they needed. Shang figured this group could survive anything, even the grouchy Chi-Fu, if they worked together.

Under the guidance of Shang, and with the new addition of Ping's imagination, the city took shape faster than ever before. Towers rose up to impossible heights with Ling standing on his tippy-toes to get the last blocks on; Chiem-Po studiously placed the electric cars were all parked in the best spots, humming the entire time; Yao kept them all entertained by predicting the ultimate crash of all of Ling's towers; and Shang found challenge in Ping's refusal to take the conventional route. They argued over whether the red blocks were bricks or the red stones of the ancestors, if the electric cars should have wings or not, and all other manner of things.

Shang hadn't had so much fun in a long time.


	3. Chapter 3: The Calm Before The Storm

I'm sorry this has been on hold for a while. I've been sick. Sadly this chapter is short, but I wanted to get something to you as soon as possible. Enough of that, here's the return of the Daycare Regiment.

Chapter 3: The calm before the storm

Time flew by and the group settled into building, during the course of which Ping insulted Shang's request to be called Mr. Li, Ling's mouth almost got them sent to the corner, Yao hit Chime-Po, and Chiem-Po sat on Yao in revenge. Overall they tussled about like Shang had always imagined friends would. The gang was just staging the great little people (found in the toy box, or gateway to the underworld – it depended on who you asked) vs the flying cars, when Chi-Fu interrupted them. He was snapping his fingers as he smoothed down his shirt.

"Right, good. Listen up whelps. Set down the toys and line up. It's time to go," he said, finally pocketing his phone.

"Go?" Ping questioned, "Just where are we going?"

"Lunch you nosy little thing." Sneered Chi-Fu.

"LUCH!" Chiem-Po shouted as he bounced up surprisingly fast for his size.

Though Shang was loath to leave the battle unfinished, even he was starting to feel a bit hungry. After fidgeting and tussling the boys lined up at the door and headed out. As they walked down the hall Chiem-Po was walking eagerly and humming at the front, Ling was hanging off Yao as best he could, Yao wiggled desperately to rid himself of Ling, Ping was explaining Mushu's view on everything to Shang, and Chi-Fu was ever shouting at them to pipe down. With much fuss, their mostly merry little band made it to the lunch hall.

The lunch hall was a rather wide open space, filled with long tables, adults fielding kids, and a lot of noise. Chi-Fu was, for once, the perfect man for his job. He neatly navigated crying toddlers, bands of rowdy boys, gaggles of giggling girls, and spills. Shang's group was efficiently ushered straight to the lunch line. Meals were dispensed before the boys could say anything and Chi-Fu had them on the move again. By the time Shang was able to figure out what had happened, the entire group was seated at a table with their meals and Chi-Fu was towering over them.

"Eat neatly, no shenanigans, no excuses. Understand?" he demanded. At the terrified nods (well Chiem-Po's was more of a wiggle as he eagerly unwrapped his sandwich), he huffed and walked over towards the unpleasant woman Shang had seen when he first entered the daycare center.

Shang looked down at his lunch, it was neither the best, nor the worst, he had ever had at such a place. There was an apple, a sandwich, applesauce, a cheese stick, two cookies, milk, and orange juice. The only unfortunate thing was the dreaded stalks of celery stared up from the corner of his tray. However, for the most part, lunch went well. Chiem-Po turned out to be indispensable to the peace, he cheerfully ate all unwanted food, including the cringe inducing celery. Shang had to marvel at his bravery and iron stomach. Ping hid an apple in unseen pockets of his sweater. Ling carefully made sure none of his food touched as he ate it. Yao glared at anyone who looked they might disturb the groups peaceful meal. All was in order and Shang felt it was safe to focus on eating his own lunch. Little did the group know that the peaceful and fun times they had been enjoying had an even greater threat than the stiffness of Chi-Fu. Lurking with a glare as a helper held his hand was a boy that would test the strength of everyone. Yellow eyes stared hatefully as the perky helper explained that the large boy would be joining a very special group.

"You'll be joining Chi-Fu's group! Your father was so pleased to hear that we could fit you in with such a wonderful group. Did you know that the new CEO, Mr. Li, has a son in this group? Trust me Shan Yu, this is the perfect group for you," said the woman as they crossed the hall toward's Shang and his friends.


End file.
